


Walking in a Winter Wonderland

by SheWhoWalksUnseen



Series: Barry Allen is Killer Frost [2]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Barry Allen Is Killer Frost, Barry Allen Isn't The Flash, Barry Allen Needs a Hug, Caitlin Snow Isn't Killer Frost, F/F, F/M, Female Friendship, Gen, Iris West is (technically) Kid Flash, Linda Park is Doctor Light, Patty Spivot is The Elongated Lady, Wally West is The Flash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-09-02 11:37:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16786213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheWhoWalksUnseen/pseuds/SheWhoWalksUnseen
Summary: A series of prompts, either from Tumblr or via ideas from messaging AgentMaryMargaretSkitz, based on the idea of Barry Allen becoming Killer Frost rather than the Flash.





	1. Iris & Ladies, "Are You Kidding Me? We Are Not Fine!"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt: "KF Barry Au with Iris and any of the other ladies + Are you kidding me? We are not fine!"
> 
> Set during _Elongated Journey Into Night_.

Iris stopped cold in the middle of the hallway, gaping at the limb on the floor.

The impossibly long, winding, _flailing_ arm that kept flopping around at her heels, struggling to gain purchase on the slippery floor.

Somehow, after gaining superpowers and fighting metahumans and returning from the Speed Force, the sight of a slender hand inching closer to her foot was the thing that sent her running. As much as she longed to bolt _away_ from the arm, though, she found herself following the arm to its source, shuddering amongst the crackling purple energy embracing her like an old friend. She caught the sound of muffled voices as she drew nearer to the Cortex and realized everyone was crowding in the medical wing.

“Just - hold still!”

“Maybe a sedative would be easier. It won’t do any good if you keep - ”

“What the _hell_ \- ”

Iris blew past Wally, who didn’t so much as flinch at her presence, likely having felt her arrival, and couldn’t help but gape again, not at the arms jerking on the bed but who they belonged to.

“Please,” Caitlin was saying, a syringe in hand and a tight smile on her face, “you need to calm down. Everything is going to be fine - ”

“Are you kidding me? We are not _fine_!”

“Would someone like to explain _what_ is going on?” Iris spoke up, unable to take her eyes off of the arms - and legs, oh god, they were _everywhere_ \- twitching beside her feet, off the gritted teeth and pure terror in their guest’s eyes, blonde hair haloed around her head as she kept glancing down at her growing limbs.

Cisco, who’d been slowly making his way toward where Wally stood at the doorway, flashed her a chagrined grin of his own. “Uh, well, see - ”

“Wait,” the blonde shifted on the bed, her eyes widening as she spotted Iris, and the lightbulb of recognition definitely went off if her shock was anything to go by. She struggled to sit up but being unable to control her puddy-like limbs only allowed her to flop back onto the bed. “ _Iris_? Iris West? Is that you?”

Iris glanced between the others, at Wally’s shrug and Cisco and Caitlin’s uncertain expressions, and stepped closer, making sure not to trip over the various growing limbs. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s me. Patty, right?”

It was a weak question and they all had to know it; there was no way Iris could’ve forgotten Patty Spivot, certainly not after the woman had come to her for dating help with Barry years ago - and wow, those were simpler times even before she got her speed. Not after Barry had confided quietly to her about how he’d broken up with her, had been unable to confirm he was Frost when Patty pleaded with him to tell her the truth, even when she _knew_ he was lying. Not after she’d quit the force after Singh asked her to take a break, after her increasingly reckless conduct, and how guilty Barry had looked when Patty seemed to vanish from Central City.

Until now, that is, when she turned into human silly putty.

Oh, god. Barry. Did he know? Had he seen Patty yet?

“Yeah, Patty Spivot. I used to, uh - ” Patty’s eyes narrowed. “Wait, if we’re at S.T.A.R. Labs, then - ”

“We think her cells have been polymerized by dark matter,” Caitlin cut her off, running a hand through her curls. She looked thoroughly exhausted. Iris wondered if she’d gotten any sleep the night before.

“What does that mean, exactly?” Iris asked.

“The walls of every cell in her body have elasticized,” Cisco explained, gesturing toward Patty’s tangled legs by his feet. “Meaning this girl can stretch and stretch until - ”

“Oh, god,” Patty muttered, closing her eyes, her head hitting the pillow with a soft thump. “Is this what Rapunzel felt like, just with…hair, I guess?”

“Not helping, Cisco,” Caitlin whispered. She set down the syringe and laid a hand on Patty’s shoulder. If she was deterred at all by Patty’s new state, she didn’t show it. “Look, it’s going to be alright. I just need to get a blood sample so we can find a way to return you to your normal state and figure out how this works.”

Patty hesitated, but something in Caitlin’s earnest expression must’ve broken down her defenses because she sighed and shoved one of her endless arms toward Caitlin. “Please. They’re a lot heavier than they look.”

Iris turned to Cisco and Wally. She made sure to lower her voice, keeping an eye on Caitlin and Patty. “What do you mean by ‘dark matter’? If she were hit by the Accelerator, we would’ve known.”

“Not the Accelerator,” Wally said with a shake of his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “The bus metas.”

Iris’s heart sank. The guilt over creating those metahumans after she’d been freed from the Speed Force had never quite gone away, despite the fact that she knew it wasn’t her fault. She couldn’t have known what would’ve happened.

Her brother’s expression started to soften, likely sensing where her thoughts were going, and Iris forced herself to stand a little straighter, clearing her throat. “She was on that bus, then?”

“She admitted it when Dad and I went to see her.”

“Went to see her?”

“Apparently she never left Central City,” Cisco said, raising an eyebrow meaningfully. “Works as a P.I. downtown now, I guess.”

At least Patty was still working toward what she loved. “And she didn’t know about her powers until now?”

“Some guys were trying to attack her while we were leaving.” Wally grimaced at the memory. “She, uh, stretched her way down the side of a building to safety. Which - impressive. But also a little disturbing at the time.”

“Tell me about it. A little head’s up next time I wander down the hall would be nice.” Iris bit her lip and leaned closer. “Speaking of head’s up, did… Wally, did you guys tell Barry about Patty?”

Wally frowned. “No. Why?”

Cisco winced and muttered something in Spanish under his breath. “Shit, didn’t even think of that. Should I - ?”

“Sooner rather than later, yeah,” Iris agreed. “Is he on his way?”

“I called him a few minutes ago, he said he was already driving here so…”

“Right. You and Wally go, Cait and I can handle Patty.”

“You sure?” Cisco asked. “Because she’s a little more…cranky. Than she used to be.”

“I’ll be fine,” Iris assured him. “We got along well enough years ago, and we have a lot in common. Besides, don’t you have your girlfriend’s dad to see to?”

Cisco groaned and Wally ducked his head to hide a small laugh. “Why did you have to remind me of that? Why?”

“I’ll drop him off and warn Barry,” her brother promised, his mouth quirking up at the corners before he disappeared in a whirl of yellow lightning along with a grumpy Cisco.

A gasp behind her drew Iris’s attention back to Patty, whose mouth was slightly agape, staring after where half of their team had once stood. Caitlin shot her an unreadable look, the syringe of blood in hand as she moved to deposit it on her work table.

“Uh, hey, Patty, about - ”

“He’s the Flash,” Patty said, something close to but not quite awe coloring her voice. Her brow furrowed the longer she stared at the empty space. “That was your brother, right? We met at the Christmas party - _he’s_ the Flash?”

Well. No wonder they had problems with keeping secret identities _secret_. “Yeah. Wally’s the Flash.”

“Then you’re…” The former cop tried to move onto her elbows, forgetting herself for a moment, but her elbows were halfway out the door. “No wonder Momentum looked so similar to him, you’re _siblings_!”

Iris couldn’t help but laugh. “I got my powers after Wally did. Like, years after, actually. Is it that obvious that we’re…?”

“Pretty obvious. I mean, your suits are similar and you don’t see many speedsters running around these days. Those masks are kind of flimsy.”

Caitlin made a quiet noise, her lips pursed as she fought back a laugh of her own. Iris couldn’t bring herself to glare at her friend, even jokingly, because…well, she had a point. Maybe they ought to talk to Cisco about that. Even _Barry’s_ only defense against the public was a thin blue mask over his eyes.

“So much for hiding, then.” Iris walked over and sat in the chair next to Patty’s bed. “You don’t look too surprised, though.”

Patty rolled her eyes, any humor dissipating from her face, and Iris thought she understood what Cisco meant by _cranky_ when her green eyes met Iris’s, steely and hard. “Please. I didn’t expect it, no, but I _did_ date a superhero for a while. Would have to be pretty stupid not to guess that his team-ups with Flash and Momentum had to come from friends rather than acquaintances.”

Right. That answered Iris’s next question about Barry, she supposed.

“Well, you’re a lot smarter than most of the city,” Caitlin teased weakly.

“It’s not that. Just…” Patty exhaled deep through her nose. “You see what you want to see sometimes. If most people don’t know, it’s not that they’re stupid but that they don’t want to believe that a CSI could be one of Central City’s heroes.”

“They want to remain blind,” Iris said, sympathy churning in her gut. “Seems better to romanticize them, right?”

Patty’s mouth twitched. “Something like that.”

Caitlin’s phone buzzed on the table, inciting her to pull off her gloves to answer it. Patty turned her head away from Iris, her expression shuttering, and Iris thought back to having coffee with the woman in Jitters, laughing over Barry and explaining carefully how he’d always been bad on letting people in - _he can be cold,_ she’d said, a half-joke that Patty wouldn’t have recognized at the time, she’d thought she was so clever. A guilty part of her wondered if it’d been Barry or something else that drove Patty to leave the CCPD, venture out on her own.

“Linda’s on her way up,” Caitlin announced, typing a quick reply. “Apparently she ran into Barry, Wally and Joe in the hall.”

“Great.” Iris watched Patty tense, though whether it was the mention of her ex or her old partner that did it was beyond her. She squeezed the higher portion of Patty’s arm, grabbing her attention. “Do you want me to stall them? Or have Linda - ?”

“No!” Patty seemed startled by her own outburst, the surprise fading quickly into exasperation. “No, that’s… It’s been years, it’s fine. I just… It’s been a while. This isn’t exactly how I ever pictured, not that I _did…_ well, seeing him again.”

“We’re going to help you with the elasticity,” Caitlin affirmed. The smile she gave Patty was genuine this time. “Powers just take a bit of getting used to.”

“Are you…?”

Caitlin shook her head and laughed. “No, I’m normal. Not a metahuman, I mean. Me and Joe are the only ones who are. And Cecile.”

“We’re one big dysfunctional family,” Iris joked to see Patty’s features lighten, even a smidge. “You’ll fit right in, don’t worry.”

For the first time, Patty let out a snort, loud and unabashedly amused. “A family, huh?”

“We’ve been through…a lot,” Iris admitted. “Started with Barry, then the rest of us got powers one-by-one through various means, and then we gained Linda. We know what we’re doing.”

Patty studied her for a moment, and Iris could hear footsteps approaching the Cortex, quick and light, probably Linda hurrying to arrive before Barry and the boys. She always was better at mediating conflict than Iris. The bags under Patty’s eyes seemed softer the more Iris stared back, somehow fading as the P.I. relaxed with a shake of her head.

“If I’m getting a superhero name, it better not be anything like Play-Doh Girl or Silly Putty. Ooh, wait! Can I come up with my own name?”

Iris patted Patty’s arm and exchanged a look with Caitlin, who moved to the door, ready to intercept Linda. “Cisco usually comes up with the names around here, but something tells me he’ll make an exception. Anything would be better than Silly Putty.”

“Silly _Patty_ , more like it,” Patty grumbled through another laugh, but Iris could already see that familiar excitement lighting up her eyes, that determined spark she remembered returning in tenfold, and she didn’t need to be able to time travel to guess that the newest addition to their team was going to be just fine.


	2. Westallen, "You Can't Leave Me In The Dark. You Have To Tell Me These Things."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt: "KF Barry Au + You can’t leave me in the dark. You have to tell me these things."
> 
> Set during _Invasion!_ Mentions of self-loathing, implied death and disassociation.

“Look at me, Barry.”

Of course she’d known where he’d be. He bit back a laugh, his arms folding tighter over his chest as if his body were trying to shrink in on itself.

It’d been months since he set foot in the Cortex. It was strange to see how little it had changed, how empty it looked without Cisco and Caitlin bustling around, without Joe hovering behind him, teasing Wally about showing off against Barry’s powers, without Iris’s soft smile and murmured reassurances in the aftermath of -

He shook himself. He wasn’t - He _couldn’t_ think about that. Not when Frost - _Killer Frost,_ Caitlin had whispered when she came back to them, hands trembling, _he calls…called himself Killer Frost instead, the Earth-2 you_ \- hissed and snapped at his veins like a chained dragon ready to burst free and shatter his bones if he had to.

It was fine, though. Well, not _fine_ , but it would be. Eventually. 

He couldn’t stay. He knew he wouldn’t.

He hadn’t missed how Iris and Linda’s new suits sat beside Wally’s now, how there lay a naked mannequin beside them for his own suit - the one buried deep in the recesses of his closet he hadn’t been able to bring himself to throw out.

The one he wore now. Like he _deserved_ it after everything he’d done.

“Barry.”

He swallowed, once, then twice when the lump in his throat threatened to stick, and forced himself to turn around. He’d never been able to barricade his defenses against Iris, even with the white lies and avoiding the truth back before she knew his secret identity.

He almost wished she would look at him with anger, with pity, with anything but that hopeful gleam and tears forming in her eyes.

“Hey,” she said, out of breath, as if she’d run a marathon just to see him. Which - sort of true, given that she and Wally had been the ones to speed into his apartment and scare the living daylights out of him and Kara in the middle of the night.

They hadn’t had a chance to talk since his apartment, though. Not since the team had tackled him in a hug, Cisco berating him through tears while Caitlin shook against him, Joe’s stubble scratching the back of his neck. Even Linda had embraced him, newly returned from Coast City with light streaming between her fingertips, apologizing for the sizzle against his skin.

Somehow he hadn’t been as shocked to discover Linda’s powers as he’d been with Iris.

“How’re things going?” Barry asked, nodding past her. He hadn’t been to the hangar yet, despite Joe and Cisco’s not-so-subtle urging. Maybe it was the prospect of seeing everyone - not just the rest of his old team but Team Arrow and the Legends - that felt daunting. Either that or his lack of control, the possibility of using his powers before he could regain that sense of contentment he’d once had.

Iris grimaced. “They’re…going. Oliver’s being his usual self.”

Barry looked away, hoping she didn’t notice his small smile. “Of course he is. Is, uh, Kara doing okay? With all the new people, I mean. She was a little thrown off-guard after arriving on our Earth, didn’t want to overwhelm her so fast.”

“You could always go ask her yourself.”

The smile vanished. He sighed. “Iris.”

“No, look at me.” He heard her approach, felt her hands cup his face. He tried not to flinch at the contact but his uncertainty must have shown because he saw the flicker of pain she couldn’t hide. “You know none of us blame you, right? You should be out there. With the others.”

“I can’t, Iris.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

Barry grabbed her hands and pulled them away, but she didn’t let go, latching onto his fingers - his cold, freezing hands that had once shattered a man without regret - with strength he couldn’t fight. “I’m not that person anymore. I’ve…I’m trying to move on. I only came to bring Kara back.”

Iris’s grip tightened. “You’re not staying.”

“I _can’t_.”

“Why?”

Barry opened his mouth but the words caught, his tongue immobile. How could he explain the nightmares, the way he woke up sweating, his sheets turned to ice, his hair white until he hacked it away in the bathroom sink with shaking hands? He hadn’t been able to tell Kara, hadn’t told her more aside from the fact that he had powers and wasn’t from Opal City, but he knew she must’ve guessed when she heard him hurrying around the apartment late at night.

The grief was still there, but grief wasn’t what fueled Killer Frost now, what longed for his full transformation, the version of him that had attacked them on Earth-2, whom had almost _killed_ Caitlin.

“Barry,” Iris said, pulling him closer and he found himself swaying forward against his will, “what happened was awful. It was. None of us, not even you, I don’t think, expected for what happened to Zoom to…” She let out a shaky breath. “Suppressing your emotions, trying to hide from us - it’s what led to all of this. Pushing away the people who care about you isn’t the way to go. You can’t leave me in the dark. You have to tell me these things. Tell me how I can help.”

“You can’t,” Barry whispered. He hated the way his voice wavered. “I’m sorry, I am, but I’ve hurt you all too much to - ”

“We’d be more hurt if you left us again.” He winced but she pushed on without an ounce of remorse in her eyes. “Barr, we could’ve talked about Zoom after what happened. We all forgave you a long time ago. You were grieving, you were upset, _I get it_. I can’t say I wouldn’t have tried to do so if it’d been my dad. Hell, you said I went after Earth-2 you when he died. What happened was awful, but none of us can say in good conscience that we wouldn’t do the same thing.”

“It’s not the same,” Barry tried.

“You have support. You have friends. You have _us_ , Barry. We’re _here for you_ , okay?” Iris didn’t let go of his hands, not even to brush away the tears slipping down her cheeks. “We just want you to come home, Barr.”

His breath hitched and he yanked his hands out of Iris’s grasp, the familiar cold starting to climb up his veins as sheer _want_ engulfed him.

Barry had an apartment. Job interviews in Opal City. A roommate - who probably wouldn’t be his roommate now, actually, if Cisco managed to help Kara get home after this invasion.

A life without pain or anyone he could hurt again.

 _But is it home?_ a petty voice cooed in the back of his mind.

“Iris,” he choked out, and it took all of his willpower not to avert his gaze when he met hers, “I’m not the same person. I… What happened that night…”

“You’re still Barry Allen. You’re the same boy who used to sleep with his head in my lap on our couch, who made it snow every Christmas since you got your powers, who convinced Cisco his powers were a gift and hugged Caitlin when she had nightmares. You’re the same person who trained my brother, who saved Central City and all of us at least a hundred times over.”

“I can’t control them, Iris!” Barry snapped, balling his hands into fists. He could feel the ice curling off of them, turning to steam as he shoved down the panic in his chest. “My powers, they’re… Ever since that night I haven’t been able to control them. If I go back out there like _this_ , I could - ” His voice broke and he stepped back, pulling his hands against his chest. He could feel his heart jackrabbiting under his sweater.

Iris’s expression softened and she inched forward even as he shook his head. “You won’t. Barr, it’s okay.”

“I could turn into him and I wouldn’t be able to stop it now.” He blinked away his own tears, but once he started crying, he couldn’t stop. “I can’t hurt anyone else, and if it means staying away then - ”

Iris reached for him and he moved back, but Iris was never one easily deterred, catching his hands in hers. She didn’t give the barest flinch despite how cold he knew his hands had to be, staring up at him with the same obstinance she refused to budge on. “You have _us_ ,” she repeated. “Friends, family, the people you love. We’re all here to help you, keep you grounded. Cisco, Wally, Linda, me - we’ll all be out in the field with you now. We’re a _team_. Staying distant, staying cold, for lack of a better term, won’t fix anything. You don’t have to run. We can figure this out. Together.”

Iris’s phone went off and her face fell. Barry didn’t move, watched her answer the call and shut her eyes as whoever was over the phone - it sounded like Wally from here - briefed her on the situation.

“I’ll be there soon,” she murmured, “just…give me a minute.”

“You should go,” he told her as she hung up.

“Yeah, I…” Iris gave him a pleading look, wiping her eyes with the heel of her palm. “We could really use you, Barry. Not for Frost or for your powers, just… We miss you. If not for us, then do it for Kara. She seemed disappointed when you left.”

 _She’s not the only one_ lingered in the air between them.

Barry shouldn’t. He knew what would happen if he let the others convince him, if he let himself lean into their hugs and wipe their tears and act as if no time had passed.

_We just want you to come home._

“Just for a couple hours.” Iris’s face brightened and he raised a hand. “I don’t want an alien invasion on my conscience, after all.”

“Of course. They’re a pretty nasty bunch too,” she teased. “Not quite as friendly as E.T.”

“Oh, good, I was worrying about that.”

She laughed and he didn’t bother hiding his smile even as his insides tightened and Iris gave him a quiet warning before whisking him into her arms, into a hurricane of purple lightning nipping at his icy flesh.

He wasn’t staying. He wasn’t. They needed help, though - his friends, his family, his _team_ needed help.

It was the least he could do after all the heartache he’d caused.


	3. Team Flash/Frost, "You've Been Drinking Tonight, Haven't You?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt: "KF Barry AU + “You’ve been drinking tonight, haven’t you?”"

Sometimes, as much as Cisco had grown to love his powers, he really, _really_ wished that he could have that normal life he’d taken for granted before the Accelerator, before the whole mess with Thawne and Barry becoming a superhero and finding out _he_ had powers and - 

Well, he could name a number of things that’d gone wrong since.

Specifically, the bachelor party that’d wound up gathered in the Cortex after a _heinous_ night of chasing down supervillains - because of course they couldn’t have one nice night of drinking and shenanigans - and meeting some…old friends.

Said “old friend” currently giggling to his left, white hair mussed as his eyes flickered between blue and hazel, the only telltale sign of the physical alter ego emerging coming from the distaste fading in Barry’s features.

Right. Because he’d _really_ needed to deal with a rogue Frost tonight - who apparently _hadn’t_ disappeared after all! Surprise!

(As much as he’d missed Barry, Cisco made a mental note that they needed to work on their communication skills because this? This was the sort of thing you didn’t spring on your friends _at your bachelor party_ when Frosty came out to play.)

“I’m glad you find this amusing,” Joe muttered, rubbing his temples. He looked as exasperated as Cisco felt, not that Cisco could blame him. He was pretty sure if they hadn’t been so busy trying to corral both a drunk Barry and Frost, the cop would be more coherent.

“Come oooon!” Yeah, Frost was definitely fading, if the glee in Barry’s face was enough to go by. “You gotta - Joe. You _gotta_ admit it’s funny. I’m like - whoa, I’m like _Elsa._ ”

Joe shook his eyes and muttered something under his breath, though his mouth betrayed him by twitching at the corners.

Wally rolled his eyes. With his arms crossed tight against his chest, hanging by the end of the desk far from Barry, Cisco felt momentarily grateful that the drink he’d offered Barry was strong enough to make at least _one_ of the pair forget why they were angry with one another. Not that it was easy to be mad at Barry when he was trying to make snowflakes appear, his power dissolving the harder he tried. Wally hadn’t forgiven Barry for abandoning them again, not after Iris had gone into the Speed Force and Barry’d tried to keep with the team for a couple months.

Before he dropped off the face of the Earth. _Again_.

A snort from the hallway caught Cisco’s attention and he tensed, ready to breach Barry out of there if he had to. There was no way he was dealing with another meta fight this time of night - and definitely not with a drunken Frost.

Patty emerged around the corner, though, and Cisco slumped back, breathing out a sigh of relief. Although - wait, wasn’t she supposed to be at the bachelorette - ?

Oh.

Apparently Caitlin piggyback-riding on Patty’s shoulders was enough of an answer to that, as well as an exhausted Cecile rounding the doorway with Iris leaning on her, snickering up a storm while Linda trailed behind with a huge beaming smile, her arms lit up like a Christmas tree.

“What on earth?” Joe’s eyebrows rose. “Do I even want to know?”

Cecile shook her head, depositing Iris into a chair beside Linda, who immediately began spinning around, amusing both herself and Iris. “Who knew they could be so rowdy after a few drinks?”

“I didn’t think it was possible for speedsters to get drunk,” Wally pointed out, his gloomy mood starting to lift at the sight of his sister laughing over Linda’s antics. Cisco wouldn’t have been surprised if he brought out his phone for future blackmail material. “Wait, you have been drinking tonight, haven’t you?”

“Wally - _Wally_.” Iris tried to stand but stumbled - _the fastest woman alive, ladies and gentlemen,_ Cisco thought to himself - and caught herself on the edge of a computer, nearly bringing it crashing to the floor. She lowered her voice in a mock-whisper, though maybe she thought she was genuinely being quieter. “We drank _so_ much. _So much_.”

“Caitlin fixed up a drink that’d actually get her drunk,” Cecile explained. She bumped sides with Joe who pulled her close so he could massage her shoulders. “Maybe it’s supposed to be a prototype? I don’t know. She didn’t say much before _she_ got drunk - and wow, she really loves singing karaoke when she’s wasted.”

Cisco snorted. “Yeah, Barry’s got some great videos of that.”

“Well, a little warning next time would be _great._ ”

“Speaking of Barry…” Joe glanced down at Cecile then at Cisco.

Oh. _Really_? Now?

“Barry!” Caitlin’s loud shout caused the group to wince, turning to see that Caitlin was practically sitting on top of Patty’s shoulders - and he really didn’t want to know how much practice _that_ shape Patty was making right now had taken - and pointing erratically at the snickering Barry, still white-haired and blue-eyed, in the middle of the Cortex.

Well. That was one way to do it.

“Oh, Barry!” Iris perked up, purple lightning crackling off her arms in excitement, and even Linda slowed her spinning for a moment, looking a little dazed but no more worse for wear. “You look so cuuuuute! Like Elsa!”

Wally pressed a hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh (and yes, that was a phone in hand, not that Cisco could blame him) and Joe sighed. The resounding coos from the girls grew louder, finally noticing Barry swaying in front of them as the white vanished from his hair and regular tipsy Barry Allen came back to them.

Cecile looked all the more tired. “I take it you boys had a fun night too, then.”

“You have no idea,” Cisco groaned. 

“We fought a baaad guy. _Girl_.” Barry frowned, cocking his head to the side and nearly stumbling when Iris knocked into him in her excitement to see him, grabbing onto his arm. “I went _whoosh_ and - and Wally went - no, _he_ went - ”

“Lights!” Linda spread her hands, white orbs spreading from her fingertips as her glow filled the room and momentarily distracted the couple as Patty began fast-walking around the desk with Caitlin on her back, the latter looking rather green and mumbling something about puking.

Barry sniffed. “They’re so prettyyyy.”

“How is this our life?” Cecile whispered.

Wally shrugged, not bothering to hide how he held the phone up higher to catch all of the drunken shenanigans, though he kept the camera aimed away from poor Cait’s green face. “You get used to it.”

“Says the speedster,” Joe pointed out.

Caitlin threw up over Patty’s shoulder and Patty laughed. Cecile pinched the skin between her nose and Cisco had never related to the woman more in one moment. “I need a drink.”

“Amen to that,” Cisco said, already moving off to grab a mop and a bucket. Clearly neither of the speedsters were going anywhere.

If the wedding was as chaotic as tonight, Cisco was going to need _several_ drinks, best friends or not.


	4. Wally & Barry, "I Don't Owe You An Explanation."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt: "KF Barry AU + “I don’t owe you an explanation.”"

He wanted to laugh when Wally cornered him by the elevators. It’d only been a few days since Iris was back - _alive, safe, home_ \- and while Cisco and Joe had been trying to mediate things - see: keep Wally and Barry far away from each other - he’d known it wouldn’t take long for the powder keg to explode.

He couldn’t blame Wally, though. Not really. Barry would be pissed with himself too.

Aside from being more afraid for Wally’s safety if he happened to lose control to his frosty friend.

The thought gave him enough pause that he almost didn’t catch what the speedster said, didn’t see the grim anger in his eyes at first.

“Are you going to tell her?”

“Tell her?”

Wally rolled his eyes. “Iris. Are you going to tell her?”

Barry didn’t want to antagonize him but he tilted his head in confusion regardless. “I really don’t know what you mean, Wally.”

“Oh, I don’t know, about how you ran? Again? I’m sure you’ve both talked a lot since she’s been back, considering how much you missed her.”

Barry bit back the knee-jerk retort on his tongue, the cold _You’re one to talk_ that threatened to leave his lips, and sighed, closing his eyes. “There hasn’t been much time to talk.”

“Sure. Sure, yeah. Like how there wasn’t much time before you ran off without a word months ago? _Again_.”

“Wally - ”

“Save your excuses for my sister, not me,” Wally snapped. “If you wanna pretend you didn’t break your promise, fine. Iris is smart, she’ll figure it out sooner rather than later. But don’t try and act like you’ve been here all along and actually _tried_ to bring her back.”

The accusation stung like a knife to the chest, and Barry knew he had a point, knew the surge of guilt in him was there, but Barry had never been good at letting things go either. Especially not when it came to questioning his motivations and feelings toward Iris - his best friend, the woman he _loved_ , for Pete’s sake.

Barry crossed his arms over his chest and something in his face must’ve given away his distaste; the shift in Wally’s expression toward bitterness rather than anger was palpable. A few sparks of lightning crackled off his arms and Barry almost felt the heat coming off of him.

“What? You’re not even going to deny it? What would Iris say if she knew, do you think?”

Barry stepped forward before he could resist the urge, gritting his teeth as a nudge at the back of his mind, so terribly familiar as of late and so _cold_ hissed _he’s right, he’s right._ To his credit, Wally didn’t bother stepping back. Maybe he didn’t fear Barry anymore or maybe he just couldn’t care less.

Or maybe he thought Barry, and here he wanted to laugh, had been cured of Frost’s presence. That, somehow, was the worst thought and it made his blood boil just to contemplate the idea. 

“ _Don’t_ use her against me, Wally.”

“Why? Because you know what she’d say too? How disappointed she’d be that you won’t even _try_ to get her back after everything?”

“I don’t owe you an explanation,” Barry said. “Look, I regret it, okay? I do, even if you never believe that, and I missed her more than anything, but I had my reasons.”

“She made you _promise_ \- ”

“And I made a promise not to hurt anyone I cared about ever again!”

The dizziness was returning, the heavy sluggishness that came with Frost’s change and terror seized his chest. Barry moved back, swallowing as he looked away. He hoped Wally didn’t see his eyes, the definite blue glow that had to be taking over.

Fuck. He had to get away, get somewhere he could hide and calm down for a few moments. That was all he needed, just a few moments -

“Well, you made a pretty shitty promise, if you don’t mind me saying it,” Wally said, his voice low. “Because my dad? Cisco? Caitlin? Everyone you left behind? They all got hurt anyway, just like before. And yeah, we forgave you a long time ago for Zoom - ” he couldn’t help it, he had to flinch, and he heard Wally pause because of it “ - but that was different. You abandoned her and everyone else. But sure, you seem better. Maybe you’re fine now, got the powers sorted out. Good for you.” Wally sighed, more of a disappointed huff than anything else. “At least something good came out of that mess.”

Barry didn’t say anything as Wally walked away, heading for the Cortex. Iris’s voice and Joe’s drifted down the hall, greeting Wally as he entered and rising in volume, and the ache in his chest that had nothing to do with Frost’s presence _hurt_.

The worst part was, he couldn’t even justify leaving if Frost was still here.

And every promise he’d made to himself, to Iris, to Wally and Joe and Cisco and everyone he loved?

All useless and wasted.

The worst part was that Wally was right.


	5. ParkSpivot, "It's Going to Be Okay, Isn't It?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt: "Patty x Linda: “it’s going to be okay, isn’t it?”"
> 
> I brought up this ship during Femslash February for this verse and...now it may be a thing. Maybe.

Patty couldn’t stop pacing even as she spoke, gnawing on her lower lip and trying to hold back tears. She knew it’d been an accident; she hadn’t watched Caitlin’s back when she’d rushed out to help the speedsters out of the fray, pained cries escaping Wally from the broken bones in his leg (these metahumans really didn’t mess around, ugh), but she’d gotten distracted by the telekinetic debris flying their way, hadn’t wanted to get hurt any more than the others.

And now Caitlin might have a concussion or worse and she’d never seen Cisco look so worried, and her insides were starting to twist and churn and -

Warm hands gripped her shoulders and it took a long moment before Patty registered Linda was in front of her answering her nervous question, eyes softening in the face of her obvious panic. “Don’t worry, I got you. It’ll be okay. Cisco said she’ll be fine, so it’ll be fine.”

“But I should’ve - ”

“Anyone could’ve made a mistake out there,” Linda assured her, pulling her into a hug. Patty’s legs felt like jelly - and not just because of her newfound abilities. “I nearly set multiple people on the team on fire during my first time out in the field.”

“Really?”

“Oh, yeah.” Linda chuckled and the knot in Patty’s gut started to ease up, her hands clenching a little less tight in Linda’s Firefly suit.

**Author's Note:**

> Come scream with me (or prompt me) at my DCTV Tumblr @areyouscarletcold. Comments are always appreciated, and have a great day!


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